Greeks toast EU's ruling on ouzo

Greece said it had won the right to call its trademark
anise-flavoured aperitif ouzo as an exclusively Greek product after
negotiations with the European Union.

The country's Agriculture Ministry said several alcoholic drinks
made from grapes or raisins, including ouzo, had been granted
geographical protection by the EU.

The EU has previously granted brand protection to other drinks
and food products such as Cognac and Champagne from France and
Italy's Gorgonzola and Parmesan cheeses.

"The minister succeeded after difficult negotiations to register
the Greek drinks of ouzo, tsipouro and tsikoudia as geographically
protected," it said in a statement following an EU agriculture
ministers meeting in Luxemburg.

Tsipouro and tsikoudia, are also strong, clear spirits made in
Greece.

"This means that nobody outside Greece can make ouzo and call it
that," a ministry official told Reuters.

"Only Greece can make ouzo and use the name."

The official said Greece has also granted fellow EU member
Cyprus the right to make ouzo when it joined in 2004. Cyprus is
divided along ethnic lines since 1974 and its Greek-Cypriot
government is the only one recognised internationally.